Thanksgiving in Afghanistan

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. As we speak, there are about 150,000 US troops in two different combat zones overseas, Afghanistan and Iraq. It is easy to take for granted the fact that we are with our families today until one thinks about what it must be like for those who aren’t.

So today, I’d like to give thanks to our servicemen and women.

Here’s a Bloomberg piece on the logistical challenge of getting turkey dinners to our kids in the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of the mideast…

The U.S. military will deliver more Thanksgiving dinners to troops and support staff in Afghanistan than to those in Iraq and Kuwait for the first time since 2003 – – a milestone marked by increased logistical challenges.

Afghanistan’s rugged terrain requires about a quarter of the 160,000 Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing and sweet potato meals served in the country to be airlifted from dining halls to remote troop locations on Thanksgiving Day, said Rich Faso, a Defense Logistics Agency director of supply chain operations.

“There are places that we cannot even get trucks into that we routinely deliver by helicopter and fixed wing aircraft,” Faso said in a Nov. 18 phone interview. “The goal is for every military member in Afghanistan and Iraq and Kuwait to have a traditional turkey dinner.”

There are 270 delivery points for provisions in Afghanistan compared with 25 in Iraq and Kuwait, where 90,000 meals will be served by the military and its contractors, he said. The military feeds support staff and State Department employees in addition to troops.